This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-367058 filed on Nov. 30, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an air-conditioning unit for a vehicle seat.
Various air-conditioning units for vehicle seats are proposed. A blower unit for blowing a conditioned air is generally installed in a cushion member of a seat. For example, in a seat air-conditioning unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,925, a blower unit is fastened to a seat reinforcement member by an elastic bracket member in a seat cushion member.
Since the blower unit is generally a hard component made of rigid parts, the blower unit fastened to the seat reinforcement member in the cushion member cause discomfort to a user seated on the seat. In addition, the shock due to the user""s weight is applied to the blower unit, thereby causing breakage of the blower unit.
In the air-conditioning unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,925, an air duct, which is a part of the blower unit, is in direct-contact with a cover member that makes contact with the user""s body. Therefore, seating comfort is likely to be lessened due to the blower unit. Further, the elastic bracket member for elastically fastening the blower unit to the seat reinforcement member is additionally required. Therefore, the space for mounting the blower unit is enlarged and the cost for mounting the same is increased.
The present invention is made in view of the above disadvantages, and it is an object of the present invention to improve seating comfort of a vehicle seat having a blower unit therein.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning unit capable of being mounted compactly in a seat.
According to an air-conditioning unit of the present invention, a resilient member is provided adjacent to a rear surface of a cover member of a seat and resiliently supports the seat. A blower case surrounding a blower unit is supported by the resilient member on a side opposite to the cover member with respect to the resilient member.
Since the blower case is supported by the resilient member, the blower unit can move with the resilient member in accordance with pressure applied onto the seat. Further, since the blower case is located on the side opposite to the cover member with respect to the resilient member, discomfort due to the blower case is decreased on the cover member. Therefore, seating comfort is maintained in the seat having the blower unit therein.
Further, the resilient member supports a cushion member of the seat on a side opposite to the cover member with respect to the cushion member. Since the resilient member is also used as a fixing means for fixing the blower unit, a mounting structure of the blower unit is simplified.